Sarah's Adventures Underground
by Phyllis Joy Wolfe
Summary: This is a story I wrote recently for my little sister's 14th birthday. Sarah follows her stuffed dog down an impossibly deep hole and has a strangely familiar adventure!


A/N: My sister had a birthday here recently and I wrote her this story. It took the whole day! The different characters are representations of different members of our household. Enjoy!

Oh, BTW, Pup and "the rat dog" are not the same canine.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, or Looking Glass Wars. I also don't own Sonic (the restaurant) or the French language. Finally, I don't own my family but they're probably not going to sue me anyway sooo....

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It was a very dull morning. The sun was too bright, the day was too hot, and Sarah was too tired to even _think_ about going for a walk. Instead she sat down against the eastern side of the house next to the garden and began to think, rather drowsily, about her birthday party. She knew that, other than a nice dinner out, her birthday would probably be nothing spectacular. Her party, however, was later in the week and she was counting on its being fantastic!

As she thought these things, a rather queer thing occurred. A small dalmatian wearing a purple dress ran by on its hind legs crying out, "Oh my ears and stuffing! I'm going to be late!"

Now, I won't lie and tell you that Sarah found nothing odd about a talking, dress wearing, dog running through her yard, for that is strange indeed. What Sarah found even stranger though, was that the dog looked just exactly like the stuffed one she kept in her room.

"Patch?!" Sarah called out. The little she-dog didn't turn around however, so Sarah did the only thing she could. She followed it.

Patch ran and Sarah followed all the way to the McGarvey's house. There Patch jumped right into a hole so deep that Sarah was certain not even the McGarvey's dog Pup could have created it.

"This is probably the work of that evil little rat dog," Sarah muttered, looking into the hole. "I hope he fell in it!"

Having no desire to jump into a hole that led, who knew where, Sarah stood to her feet to leave. Unfortunately, just at that moment the aforementioned "rat dog" decided to run right past her and Sarah lost her balance, causing her to fall right into the hole.

Sarah's first thought of course was something along the lines of "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" and her second thought was, "Man, I _really_ hate that dog!" Her third thought was actually along the lines that maybe, perhaps, a Sonic Blast would taste really good at that moment, but after that her thoughts took on a more practical nature and she thought things like, "Wow, how deep is this hole anyway?" "I wonder what's at the bottom?" and "I wonder how I'm going to get home."

This last thought made Sarah very sad, and even though she knew it wouldn't help matters, she began to cry. She couldn't help it you know, being in such a seemingly hopeless situation. She cried for a very long time, until finally, she fell asleep. That isn't an easy thing mind you, falling asleep, mid-fall, but somehow she managed.

Finally, her fall was broken by a large pile of cotton stuffing. Sarah awoke with a start and was even more startled to find that said pile was floating, _floating_, on a large body of water. The pile, being only cotton, was beginning to sink, so Sarah reached down with her hand and began to steer it toward the closest piece of land.

On the way, she spotted a cat, splashing and spluttering in the water. Feeling compassion for the poor thing, Sarah steered her way toward it. When she was close enough, the cat climbed its way onto the stuffing. It was small and whit with a little gray patch on its forehead.

"Sparkle?" Sarah said in surprise.

"Who is zees "Sparkle" you speak of?" the cat asked. It had a rather pretty French accent.

"Oh!" said Sarah, much surprised to hear the cat speak, "I'm sorry. I thought you were my mom's cat Sparkle."

"Mais non!" the cat spat, obviously offended. "Ze very idea! Zat un chat should belong to anyone! Je suis Marie Dupont! I greatly dislike zees water. It is Bastille day and I wish to be home with my family, so if you could steer zees thing in ze proper direction-" She nodded toward land and proceeded to lick her fur in an attempt to dry it.

Since it was apparent the cat was not going to speak again, Sarah went back to paddling to shore. They thankfully reached it before their cotton watercraft sunk and both hopped off onto dry land.

"You didn't happen to see a little dog come through here before me?" Sarah asked politely. The cat bristled, taking offense.

"Chiens!" she screeched, "I hate zem more zen I hate water! Such stupid leetle creatures!... But," the cat mused, "If you really wish to find un Chien, I believe you may wish to go in zat direction." She indicated the direction with her tail then, having no more to say, she began to clean herself.

Sarah thanked the cat and, having nothing better to do for the moment, walked in the direction indicated.

She soon came upon a little cottage with a thatched roof. She knocked on the door and, getting no answer, decided to check around back to see if anyone was there.

What she found was a very long table set with all sorts of tea things. At the end of it sat a small girl with pink glasses. She wore a large top hat that covered to her ears and sometimes fell down over her eyes. Next to her was another, even smaller girl with brown bunny ears, and next to her was a little blue duck.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Sarah, feeling she'd interrupted something important. She made a move to leave, but was stopped by a loud whine.

"Noooo," whined the hat girl. She looked defiantly at Sarah and, pointing to the chair next to her commanded, "Sit down!"

Not knowing what else to do, Sarah sat.

"Bite!" the girl commanded again, holding up a piece of toast. Sarah looked at it tentatively, then took a bite of it. It was pretty good toast, so she went ahead and ate the rest of it. The toast made her rather thirsty, so she picked up one of the tea cups to drink.

"No!" whined the hat girl. She snatched the cup from Sarah, causing the tea to spill all over her.

"Mine!" the girl exclaimed with glee, spilling tea all over herself. Bunny ears then happily began to throw toast and tea-cups on the floor.

This was all too much for Sarah, so she stood to her feet and said, "If you can't be polite, then I'm just going to leave!"

"Bye bye," said the hat girl and none of the party took any more notice of her as she left.

Highly confused at all that was going on, Sarah continued down the path outside of the house till she came to a large forest. The odd thing about the forest was that, instead of trees, large mushrooms grew there. Sarah wandered down the path, and after a while she began to hear a sound, as if someone were whistling. As she continued, the sound grew louder until finally she could see a large green caterpillar sitting on a mushroom. Noticing her, he seemed to observe her carefully, then he asked her quite plainly,

"Who are you?"

"I'm Sarah," Sarah replied. The caterpillar nodded sagely.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked.

"Thinking," the caterpillar replied.

"About what?"

"The judicial system," the caterpillar said, "and the education system. I am thinking of injustice and discrimination."

"Deep subjects," Sarah observed.

"Perhaps," said the caterpillar, "but still important. Do you realize that our supreme court is _making laws_? It's not their job you know."

"I'm sure it isn't," Sarah replied, "You haven't happened to see a dog pass this way. A white one, with black spots?"

"If you are looking for a dog," said the caterpillar, "then you are going in the right direction. Simply continue on this path and you will find what you seek.

"Thank you," Sarah replied. She continued on her way, leaving the caterpillar to his thought of injustice and discrimination.

As Sarah exited the forest, she noticed a small cottage at the end of the path. She walked toward it and, when she was about halfway there, who should come racing down the path but Patch shouting all the way.

"Taaaaabaaaaathaaa!" Patch cried, "_Taaaaabaaaaathaaa!_" The she-dog ran down the path till she came to where Sarah stood.

"There you are!" she exclaimed. "Tabatha! Fetch my hat and shoes! I'm going to be late!"

Sarah wondered briefly why Patch hadn't grabbed them herself while at home. She knew Patch had gotten her confused with someone else, but she didn't wish to anger the dog, so she set off toward the cottage. It didn't take her long to find the items in question. She took them from a chest and brought them downstairs where Patch stood, tapping her paw impatiently.

"Very good," she said, taking her hat and shoes, "Now shoo!"

Sarah walked out of the house, more confused than ever. She gave a sudden start when she hear a purr behind her. She turned to find Marie Dupont lying contentedly on the branch of a tree.

"You see what I mean now?" she asked, "Chiens, zey are... très bête!"

Sarah decided to pretend she understood what the cat was saying.

"I'm not sure where to go from here," she confided.

"Try ze Gryphon," the cat suggested lazily, "She is probably not busy."

"Where do I find ze Gryphon... I mean, the Gryphon?" asked Sarah.

"Zat way," the cat responded, pointing in the appropriate direction.

Sarah thanked the cat again and walked in the direction indicated. Things just seemed to be getting stranger and stranger, and she couldn't help wondering what would happen next.

Sarah continued in the direction indicated by the cat until finally she came upon a creature that was, head to torso, an eagle, and from there to the tail, a lion. It had been sleeping but, upon sensing Sarah's presence, it opened on eye to look at her. It seemed to recognize her and, giving a great yawn, sat up upon its haunches.

"You're here," it said, the voice indicating female, as the cat had suggested.

"The cat said I should come to see you," Sarah replied, feeling a little sheepish.

"Quite so," said the Gryphon, "for I am to take you."

"Take me where?" Sarah asked.

"To the party of course," the Gryphon replied, "the Red Queen and White Queen have it all arranged."

"Aren't they from Through the Looking Glass though?" Sarah asked.

"Certainly not!" the Gryphon responded, "Queens don't come from mirrors!"

"Well, no, what I mean to say is-" but the Gryphon continued.

"Looking glass queens," it muttered. "Next thing you know, they'll be talking about looking glass _wars_!"

Sarah made a firm decision not to say a word about _that_, and since it seemed to be what the Gryphon wanted her to do, she climbed onto its back. Up and away they flew until finally they reached a lovely little house which sat in a clearing. Here the Gryphon landed and Sarah got down off its back and thanked it.

"We're late I'm afraid," said the Gryphon, looking up at the sky. "Or rather we are on time, and that is just as bad." It turned to look at Sarah. "I shall have to tell you about my husband sometime," it told her. "He's a really remarkable caterpillar."

"I think I might have met him," Sarah replied. The Gryphon nodded.

"Well, they'll be waiting for you," it said. "Goodbye." And with that, the Gryphon took to the air and flew away.

Sarah was still puzzled about all that had occurred since she'd followed Patch into the hole, but she thought it would be rude to keep everyone waiting, so she went to the door of the house, and opened it. She was met with a loud chorus of "Hail Queen Sarah! Long live the Queen!" Patch, who was standing in the doorway, noticed Sarah, stood and cried loudly,

"Presenting Queen Sarah!"

There arose a loud cheer and Sarah decided that she'd better go in before everyone became hoarse. Entering the room she found herself nearly pounced upon by a pale faced brunet in a white dress. A white crown was perched on her head and she grinned eagerly at Sarah. Nearby stood another brunet with glasses, this one red faced with a dress and crown to match. These, Sarah knew, had to be the Red Queen and White Queen.

"Oh, you're finally here!" the White Queen exclaimed. "Here is your crown," and she placed a golden crown on Sarah's head. "Of course you must wear it, and you _must_ sit between the Red Queen and I!" Without giving Sarah a chance to object, the White Queen led Sarah to a chair and sat her down in it.

"Now to eat," said the Red Queen, speaking for the first time. "Bring the First Course!"

A waiter came out with a large silver tray. Sarah was very surprised to find it set with a very large Beef and Cheddar sandwich, and for a few moments could do nothing but gawk at it.

"Allow me to introduce you," the Red Queen said. "Sandwich, Sarah. Sarah, Sandwich."

"Um... hi?" Sarah said, reaching for the sandwich.

"No!" the White Queen said, smacking Sarah's hand.

"Ow! What was that for?" asked Sarah.

"You must never eat a thing once you've been introduced," said the White Queen.

"It's impolite," whispered the Red Queen. "Second Course!"

The waiter took away the sandwich and brought out another tray. This one was filled with pasta.

"Please," Sarah said to the Red Queen, "don't introduce me. I'm rather hungry."

But the Red Queen only said, "Sarah, Pasta. Pasta, Sarah," then called out, "Third Course!"

The waiter took the tray of Pasta and brought out yet another tray. Sarah saw from a distance that this one was set with cake, so she picked up a knife, ready to slice it before the Red Queen had a chance to introduce her. But before the waiter had a chance to set the tray down the Red Queen screamed,

"CAKE, SARAH! SARAH CAKE! END MEAL!" and just like that, the waiter disappeared altogether.

Tired, hungry, and frustrated, Sarah set the knife back on the table and rose to her feet.

"I'm sick of this place," she declared, "I'm leaving!"

The guests all gawked at her, but Sarah merely pushed her chair in and walked defiantly through a large looking glass mirror. Never thinking to herself that it had never been there before.

"Sarah... Sarah, it's 11:00. Time to go in."

Sarah opened her eyes and, finding herself back by the garden, gave a sigh of relief. Jenny and Mary appeared from around the corner of the house, holding the babies.

"There you are," said Mary.

"What is _that_?" asked Jenny.

Noting the weight on her head, Sarah grinned. She knew she had yet another golden crown to add to her collection.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed this! Please review! ^_^


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